Chapter Text
It was already December 20 and not a snowflake was seen, to say that Peter was disappointed was an understatement.
Peter loved the snow and everything that came with it- even the cold, although since the spider bite he couldn't thermoregulate properly, but he learned to use the adequate amount of clothes to stay warm-, he used to play with his uncle in the snow for hours and hours when he was little.
Last year he spent the holidays with Ben’s parents- they were still alive back then, he thought sadly- and his Aunt May, the thing was that they lived in a small country in South America in which it didn't snow, so he was beginning to miss the cold and smooth thing.
But just when he thought it would start snowing the weather decided that it would be a good thing to delay the snow. Peter briefly wondered if the Parker luck was strong enough to alter the weather.
"Mr. Stark!" Peter exclaimed indignantly when his mentor mentioned he didn't like the snow "How could you? This is betrayal"
Mr. Stark chuckled lightly as he patted the kid's head when he walked past him to get a snack, he had gotten attached to the kid in the months he had known him, his chest always felt warm and a strong protectiveness invaded his body when he was with the kid, and he wondered if this is how parents felt towards their children, not that Pete was his kid or anything.
"Yeah? And what's so good about snow? It's wet and cold and slippery"
"But it's also soft and fun to play with, you can make a snowmen or a snow angel" Peter threw his arms over his head dramatically, those things never bothered him "Come on! You can't just hate snow"
"I've never done those things" Mr. Stark commented with a tinge of regret- he would have loved to do that as a kid, but he was too busy pleasing his dad to do them-.
He didn't realize his mistake until he saw the kid gaping at him with big and horrified eyes.
"Wait- What?" Peter asked him "Oh my god, Mr. Stark! We totally are doing those things when it starts snowing" the kid told his mentor excited, with bright eyes and a big smile, but he couldn’t help but wonder why the man never did any of those things, he thought they were things that any normal kid had done at least once- but his mentor wasn’t normal, he was a genius, son of one of the most important people, maybe that’s why he never did those things-
"Sure thing, Underoos" Mr. Stark smiled fondly at the boy, finding his childish excitement adorable "Hope you can wait a few more weeks, though. It doesn't look like it's going to snow very soon"
"Why? I just want to see snow! Is it so hard, Weather?" Peter groaned making his mentor laugh.
"Why're you so excited, kid? It's not like you haven't seen snow before" Mr. Stark asked nonchalantly when Peter passed him the wrench without the man having to ask him to do so. That’s how they worked, Peter could keep up with him, they had their own system in the lab, and it worked perfectly for both of them.
"Yeah" Peter agreed, concentrating in his math homework again "But last year I wasn't here, so now it’s been like two years without snow"
“I see" he seemed deep in thought and Peter briefly wondered what his mentor was thinking, you never knew with the man.
That night, when Peter had to go back to his apartment, Tony made a call.
"Hey, Pep!" He greeted and after a moment he nodded "Yep, everything's alright, but I wanted to know if there's any chance I can fly to Canada this weekend...?"
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"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peer greeted when he entered the tower that Friday night, on Fridays he usually went to the tower at night and then stayed the weekend there, it was their time.
"Hello, kid" his mentor greeted with a smile that made his eyes twinkle as he finished packing for their little trip to Canada, it took him some begging for Pepper to let him ditch a meeting he had on Monday so they could stay there one more day, but it was worth it, the kid was going to love him.
"Do you have to be anywhere?" Peter asked him before eying suspiciously the bag, he didn’t want to be a bother or keep the man back from wherever he had to be “I can go back to my apartment, come back on a weekday instead”
"No, no" Mr. Stark shook his head "Actually, we are going somewhere"
"What?" Peter's dumbfounded look made the man crack a smirk.
"Don't worry, your aunt already knows this" the billionaire stopped to throw a backpack to the kid, who caught it easily "Have you ever been in Canada? I bet you'd love it"
"What? Mr. Stark I- What?"
"I'm taking you to the north, the snow it's beautiful there, have you ever seen the northern lights?" the man asked, placing an arm comfortably around the kid's shoulders and guiding him to the common room.
"What? No, I've never" Peter shook his head before looking at him with big eyes "Like- Seriously? Are we going to see an aurora? That's like, super cool, Mr. Stark!"
Peter practically beamed, not making an effort to hide his excitement as his eyes shone with adoration when he looked at the man.
"Yup”
"But, like, why?" Peter asked as he walked to the fridge to get a snack, the arm of his mentor still around his shoulders. He still wasn’t really understanding why they were flying to Canada.
"Well, you were upset because you hadn't seen snow in ages, so I thought 'Why not?'" Mr. Stark shrugged as if the look the teen was giving him didn't manage to melt his stone like heart.
"Really? For me? Mr. Stark you didn't have to! It wasn't that important..." the kid complained, his cheeks flushed.
"And? You still want to go, right? Everything's settled, kid"
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The next day Peter woke up in an unfamiliar bed, he almost panicked before hearing sound of his mentor humming lightly as he looked at his phone in the small kitchen's table, he relaxed, he was okay and safe, with his mentor, the man would protect him.
"Mhm" the kid groaned as he rolled to his side, tired.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty" Mr. Stark teased him before signaling to the table "I got you breakfast, I didn't want to wake you up"
Peter nodded, still half asleep "Thanks..."
The billionaire smiled fondly as Peter got up, his hair disheveled by sleep and his eyelids half closed. The kid really looked like a kid like that, which made the man grow a paternal feeling in his chest.
"What do you say, kid, do you want to build a snowman?" Mr. Stark sang jokingly.
"Did you just made a Frozen reference, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked with slurred words and a lopsided smile, which his mentor returned.
That day they did snow fights ["I'm gonna get you, Underoos!" Tony shouted as he chased the kid down the snow, throwing crazily snowballs at the kid, which only made the kid laugh harder "You know you would never get to me" Peter replied smugly, but then a snowball hit his face, his spider senses flaring, and he fell to the ground; then Mr. Stark proceeded to cover the kid with snow "Gotcha!"]
Snow angels ["Mr. Stark! Mine's almost as big as yours!" Peter exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the ground "Almost. I forbid you to keep growing" Mr. Stark told him with fake seriousness "You can't do that!" "Yeah, I can and I will, kiddo"]
And snowmen ["Hey, Mr. Stark! Look, mine has a reactor. It's you!" Peter grinned and the man had to stop the growing warm feeling in his chest before the tears spilled "Wow, it's super cool, Pete" "Did you just say 'super cool'?"]
And Peter swore he hadn't had this much fun in a long time.
Right now, they were on the balcony of their hotel room, snuggled in the couch with a ton of blankets covering them and mugs of hot chocolate in their hands.
It was a little bit after twilight and there was still some light, but they were waiting until nighttime, until it was dark.
Peter was scrolling in his phone when he felt his mentor nudge his side, then he looked up at him rising an eyebrow.
"Look" Mr. Stark whispered, he felt like he would break the magic atmosphere that the northern lights gave the night if he talked louder.
Peter looked to where his mentor was looking and instantly gasped, it was beautiful, he had seen an aurora in photos and in a planetarium at his school, but it was completely different seeing them in person.
It was magical, the cold night air, the steam of their hot chocolate, and the colors that swirled in the sky above their heads, which contrasted with the darkness of the night. It was really something worth seeing, Peter thought.
"It's beautiful" the kid mumbled.
"It is" Mr. Stark agreed.
"Thanks for bringing me here, Mr. Stark, really" Peter looked at him with such intensity and honesty that the man had to look away.
"Anything for you, kid" his mentor said with a warm smile before bringing the kid closer, wrapping an arm around the cold figure of his kid "So, did you liked your first snow in, what? Two years?"
"I loved it, thanks" and that's how they spent the following hours, with Peter leaning into his mentor and the man hugging the kid he had started to think as a son.